Charles Tannock, author. – Madam President, last month, democracy and the rule of law in Cambodia received a damaging blow. Basing its decision on vague accusations and legal provisions, Cambodia’s highest court dissolved the Cambodia National Rescue Party – the main opposition party to Prime Minister Hun Sen. 118 CNRP politicians were banned from political activity for five years. Kem Sokha, President of the CNRP, is currently being held in prison on trumped-up charges, and an arrest warrant is out for the leader of the opposition, Sam Rainsy. If this situation is not reversed, then Prime Minister Hun Sen will be effectively uncontested at next year’s general elections, giving him unfettered power.

Removing opponents is the text book move of a typical tyrant. The people of Cambodia, after the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime last century deserve democracy; they deserve better. They deserve an independent and impartial judiciary. Credible and transparent elections are vital to the health of the nation and the legitimacy of its government. This is one of the basic tenets that the EU member states hold dear and yet, Cambodia is a country that continues to enjoy tariff preferences to the EU market as part of the preferential ‘everything but arms’ scheme.

EU member states now have a key role to play to urge the Cambodian government to protect democracy and pluralism, as enshrined in their constitution. Cambodia’s obligations under the Convention should be immediately reviewed and all possible pressure should be put on the government to drop charges against the leaders of the opposition and to re-establish the CNRP party.

Petras Auštrevičius, author. – Madam President, after numerous European Union statements and five urgency resolutions on this legislation alone, I believe we should have learned the lesson. Words alone with Cambodia’s Government do not, and will not, work. We must resort to action. I certainly welcome the European Union’s decision to suspend all electoral assistance, but that is not sufficient. I therefore join others, my colleagues, in calling on the Commission to withdraw Cambodia’s participation in the ‘everything but arms’ scheme.

Lastly, the European External Action Service should, with no delay, draw up a list of those accountable for repression and impose travel bans and asset freezes on them. Without all this, the democratic opposition and civil society in Cambodia are doomed and we take responsibility for that situation.

Laima Liucija Andrikienė, author. – Madam President, the European Parliament adopted an urgency resolution on Cambodia in September this year. However, the human rights situation is further deteriorating. There is an increasing number of political opposition members and human rights activists being arrested. Therefore, the European Parliament is again discussing the situation in Cambodia, notably the banning of the opposition.

The dissolution of the Cambodia National Rescue Party and the worsening climate for opposition politicians raises serious concerns, as well as the strong influence of China in the political life of Cambodia, which is playing an important role in political decisions in that country.

We welcome the EU decision to withdraw all electoral assistance until Cambodia engages in reforms, in line with international electoral standards, in order to advance democracy and protect civil society space. It is important to underline that respect for fundamental human rights is a prerequisite for Cambodia to continue to benefit from the EU’s preferential Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme. If Cambodia is acting in violation of its obligations under the EBA regulation, the tariff preferences it currently enjoys must be temporarily withdrawn.

We urge the Cambodian Government to reverse the decision to dissolve the opposition party, restore the elected members of the parliament and commune council to their position, and to allow the full participation of opposition parties in public life. In the event of a failure to guarantee political and social rights in the country, further steps in the form of sanctions might be taken by the European Union, such as an introduction of a list of individuals responsible for the dissolution of the opposition and other serious human rights violations in Cambodia, with a view to imposing possible visa restrictions and asset freezes on them.

Finally, I call on High Representative Ms Mogherini and the EU Special Representative for Human Rights to use all means available to protect the fundamental rights of the Cambodian people to elect and be elected, and to guarantee pluralism and democratic principles strictly in line with Cambodia’s Constitution.

Marietje Schaake, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, we have addressed human rights violations in Cambodia repeatedly and the dissolving of the National Rescue Party, as well as the barring of 118 of its politicians from political activity for five years, is another reason for deep concern. There is now effectively no alternative to the government, and when politicians are silenced, despite their immunity, the situation of civil society and human rights defenders is even worse.

The EU should attach consequences to these serious developments. Respect for fundamental human rights is a prerequisite to continuing to grant the benefits from the EU’s preferential ‘Everything But Arms’ trade scheme, and EUR 410 million is foreseen to go to Cambodia over the next couple of years. We call for an immediate review of Cambodia’s obligations and for the withdrawal of trade preferences and financial support in response to the recent events, as well as the structural human rights violations. Individual sanctions, including asset freezing and visa bans, should also be part of the consideration of which consequences are needed and appropriate.

Csaba Sógor (PPE). – Madam President, as the banning of the opposition clearly shows, the Prime Minister and his ruling party are only willing to hold free elections if they are sure that they will win and they do not shy away from deploying anti—democratic practices to secure their rule. Sadly, ordering the closure of the main opposition party follows a wider pattern in this regard. Independent media outlets have already been reduced to silence and critical NGOs have been under attack. The government also expressed its intention to prosecute people who criticise it on social media.

Unfortunately, these incidents are taking place in the context of a shift away from the West, and the US Administration’s diminished interest in human rights. Even so, the EU is still the biggest grant donor in Cambodia. China has recently increased its aid and investment in the country without human rights strings attached. To reverse this trend, the EU should use all its means to put pressure on the Cambodian Government to restore the democratic principles from its Constitution.

Ignazio Corrao (EFDD). – Madam President, the information that comes from Cambodia is more than alarming. The parliament has recently approved repressive amendments and the Minister of the Interior has got such strong power to suspend the main opposition political party, and its president has been arrested. The current conditions totally alter competition amongst parties and if the situation stays the same the future election will be just a comedy.

I have had the privilege to be a short-term electoral observer more than once and in several countries. I can largely say that respecting the voting procedure is not enough to guarantee a fair election. The integrity of the voting system needs to be complemented by a democratic long-term environment. Suppressing political parties, conferring powers on a government and drawing up tailored electoral laws, changing the rules of the game in the run-up to the elections, are all ways to corrupt the system and prevent a democratic election.

We should condemn the improper actions of the Cambodian Government and the serious violation of human rights, and call on the European Union to suspend commercial benefits until democracy is restored.

Karmenu Vella,Member of the Commission. – Madam President, honourable Members, the European Union remains deeply concerned about the continuing deterioration of the political situation in Cambodia and the escalating repression of the opposition and civil society. Cambodia is heading towards increasing authoritarianism. In recent months, the Cambodian Government has taken action to stifle political opposition, to suffocate democracy. We have underlined that the decision of the Cambodian Government on 16 November to dissolve the main opposition party, the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), is a significant step away from the path of pluralism and democracy enshrined in Cambodia’s Constitution and supported for more than two decades by Cambodia’s international partners, including the European Union. We reiterate that an electoral process from which the main opposition party has been arbitrarily excluded is not legitimate. The CNRP won one over 43% of the vote at the 2016 commune elections and 44.5% in the 2013 legislative elections. Its dissolution disenfranchises is those voters.

The 1991 Paris Accords created binding legal obligations upon the parties, including the duty of the Cambodian Government to maintain liberal multi—party democracy, as well as to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. These commitments are enshrined in the Cambodian Constitution. The European Union and its Member States have put, and continue to put, huge efforts and very significant resources into supporting the development of Cambodia. It is therefore very worrying to see over the last months a significant narrowing of the democratic space in the country.

On 20 November, High Representative Mogherini met with the Cambodian Foreign Minister, Prak Sokhonn, on the margins of the ASEM Ministerial Meeting in Myanmar. She insisted on the expectation that the continued detention of the opposition leader, Kem Sokha, and the dissolution of the CNRP would be swiftly reversed. The High Representative also recalled that the EU’s development cooperation and trade preferences were reliant on Cambodia’s respect for fundamental human rights. We are currently assessing the situation in terms of development cooperation assistance. In this regard, the EU has decided to suspend its support to the national election committee. The EU will continue to reaffirm its commitment to protect and to promote the universality of human rights whenever they are violated or questioned, whether inside or outside its borders.

The principle of democratic inclusion and dialogue is key to lasting peace and stability. We encourage the Cambodian Government to find a way out of this impasse, through a structured dialogue with the opposition. We will also continue to raise with the government the need to apply the law evenly and fairly to all, and the need to ensure that freedom of association, expression and due process are fully respected.

Respect for fundamental human and labour rights is also part of our trade policy and underpins the legal basis of our trade preferences. Our development cooperation with Cambodia is long term and any consideration regarding a suspension of cooperation would have to be carefully evaluated in terms of its impact. Suspension of aid could be detrimental to the population.

On the temporary withdrawal of Cambodia from the Everything But Arms (EBA) arrangement, the Commission, in cooperation with the EEAS, is monitoring the situation in Cambodia to check whether the conditions for taking measures, under Article 19 of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) regulations, are fulfilled.

The European Union remains ready to support the government of Cambodia in strengthening Cambodia’s developing democratic system.